


Pride and Prejudice Online

by FanficCornerWriter19



Category: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Sword Art Online
Genre: F/M, If it reaches 20 kudos I'll work on a full story, Preview Only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 00:11:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11137407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficCornerWriter19/pseuds/FanficCornerWriter19
Summary: Elizabeth Bennet, aka Ayumi, is an English player on Sword Art Online. On her first day, she meets an avatar named Hikaru, who reminds her of someone at TAGCon...





	Pride and Prejudice Online

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, this is a preview. If it reaches 20 kudos, I'll work on a full version, but for now I'm testing this idea out.  
> Sorry again, no Kirito and Asuna yet!  
> If anyone's wondering, I used the anime transcript from: http://animetranscripts.wikispaces.com/Sword+Art+Online%3E1.+The+World+of+Swords  
> If you want to, you can guess who Hikaru is!

Elizabeth met the stranger's eyes. His avatar was blond, with green eyes the color of his forest green military jacket. His pants were designed to help him run quickly over long distances, but his lace-up boots were made to walk on slippery surfaces and not slip. Over his shoulders in an X hung two sword belts, each one connected to a sword sheath on his back. "Who are you?"

"My username?" he asked, uncertainly. 

"Of course!" 

"Uh.... you won't laugh, promise?"

"Promise. Cross my heart."

"Well, my sister named my avatar... Hikaru." 

Elizabeth burst out laughing. "Hikaru?" 

"Yeah... I think it has something to do with my avatar's blond hair," he said self-consciously, running his fingers through the golden curls. 

"I'm Ayumi. It's nice to meet you - are you new?" 

"Yes, why?"

"I don't know. You were just so good at dealing with that boar I thought maybe you were a beta tester."

Hikaru laughed. "Oh, no, I'm not one of the beta testers. But I did come across one - his username is Kirito. He taught me the technique with that boar." He shrugged. "Kirito is probably teaching that other newbie, Klein. I don't know where they are though, over there, maybe?" He waved his hand vaguely north. 

Elizabeth looked around. "This is amazing."

"Frankly, so is the NerveGear!" Hikaru gestured at his head. "The way this device taps into our brains and yet keeps us stationary the whole time is marvelous."

Who did Hikaru remind her of? Elizabeth was immediately frustrated when she remembered the words, 'That girl? I don't believe she can really talk about computers like you and I can, Charlie. Leave me alone and go talk to her sister. You're wasting your time." 

Yet young Darcy had been admiring of the NerveGear device like Hikaru. Hikaru, on the other hand, was much more charming and open, so much more confident. 

"I - what? Sorry. I wasn't listening." 

"Why? Did you hear something?" Hikaru slid one of his katanas out of its sheath. 

"No, just remembering some jerk at a tech convention three weeks ago." 

"Which convention was that?" Hikaru asked, frowning. 

"The Tokyo Annual Geek's Convention - you know, the TAGCon."

Hikaru nodded slowly. "Who was that jerk, by the way? I was there, so I might know him." 

Elizabeth was starting to think that Hikaru might be Charles 'Charlie' Bingley under another name. "Well, he was an upstart, stuck-up snob by the name of Darcy. I don't know and don't care what his first name is," Elizabeth replied hotly, missing Hikaru's blink of surprise. 

"Ah... him. Sorry, but I don't like him very much either at the moment," Hikaru said. "He's a complete and utter jerk. I'm sorry." 

"Why are you apologizing for him?" Elizabeth asked, amused. 

"I grew up with him, so I should've seen that he could grow more sociable, more confident in society. He isn't really snobbish, unless he's changed a lot. Darcy just has crippling social anxiety and debilitating shyness." 

"I think he has changed, then. He was a total badmouth."

"Maybe he was just preoccupied," Hikaru said thoughtfully. "I've known him to be bad-tempered from time to time when he's been yanked out of his thoughts."

Elizabeth looked up at the setting sun. "Well, I guess we should be getting back to the town now. I need to log out once I'm there, because my dad will probably go berserk if I don't come down for dinner." 

Hikaru laughed. "My cousin is the same way. He'll hound me to the gates of hell if he thinks I'm not doing okay. I really love him, Richie." He looked around. "I think he's already in the town somewhere. Let's go! I want you to meet him." 

"Sure thing!" Elizabeth followed Hikaru up to the town when the bell rang out loudly and repeatedly. Suddenly a blue column of light erupted around her, forcibly teleporting her to the town plaza, where she had started the game. Hikaru appeared beside her, his face locked in shock. "How - what -?" 

"I agree," she said, staring up at the sky, where a red warning label had appeared. It multiplied exponentially, completely covering the blue. 

A red sludge began to ooze between the middle plates, forming into a huge, formidable being at least as big as the plaza. A booming voice echoed from beneath the dark red hood. "Attention, players. I welcome you to my world." 

"What the heck?" Elizabeth muttered. "Hikaru, do you get this at all?" 

"No, not at all," he answered, eyes still fixed on the hooded figure.

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world. I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus -- the log out button. Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how 'Sword Art Online' was designed to be." 

"Wait, what?" Elizabeth stared at Kayaba, as though he were an alien - which, technically, he was. Hikaru made no sounds, but looked up intently, like he could erase Kayaba with his stare.

"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."

Hikaru cursed. "Crap. If this is true, we're screwed. If this isn't true... well, we're still screwed." 

"How so?" Elizabeth asked, not taking her eyes off Kayaba.

"If this is true, all of us here could die because our worried family members try to pull our equipment from our heads, or disconnect the NerveGear. If it isn't, it means we're still being held captive here for a reason - and ransom doesn't sound like a good option, does it?" 

"Nope."

"Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have attempted removing the NerveGear, an unfortunate decision, to say the least," Kayaba went on. "As a result, the game now has two hundred thirteen less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world." 

Elizabeth and Hikaru - and everyone else - gasped in horror. Hikaru whispered desperately, "Two _hundred_ and thir _teen_? Please, please don't let it be true." His gloved hands were clasped under his chin, like he was praying. And it looked like he was. 

"As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume that the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this gives you a little comfort as you try to clear the game. It's important to remember the following:

"There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar is deleted from the system... forever; and the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain. There is only one way for a player to escape now - you must clear the game. 

"Right now you are gathered on Floor 1, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss of Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

"He's stark, barking, raving mad!" Hikaru muttered. "No one can clear until Floor 50, let alone Floor 100! Even the most skilled beta testers couldn't make it that far. Kirito was one of the highest achievers, and even he only cleared as far as Floor 8!" 

"Last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look."

Elizabeth tapped her menu button and scrolled to her storage icon. She opened it, and saw... _a mirror?_

"A mirror?" Hikaru said, tapping the label. A square mirror the size of a picture frame materialized in his hands, and his stared at it in confusion. "What am I supposed to do with -"

A column of blue light engulfed him, interrupting his sentence. 

"Hikaru!" Elizabeth cried. 

Suddenly, as she stared at the mirror in her hand, another blue column of light erupted around her, and she felt herself being forced into another body - her own body. The red hair she had chosen for her avatar rippled into her own brunette locks, and the bright amber eyes darkened into the sparkling chocolate brown. 

She heard gasps of shock all around her. 

"A - Ayumi?" Hikaru's voice came from beside her - at least she hoped it was Hikaru's voice, it was deeper, more resonant. Elizabeth turned to see a whole different boy in Hikaru's place. 

A taller boy stood in Hikaru's place, with a face that looked older though she knew it was the same age. Instead of the light gold curls she knew him to have, his hair looked black with highlights of brown, and it was straighter, though by no means straight. His green eyes were now a bright cerulean blue, the color of the amulet on his neck. His skin was paler, and while his frame was leaner, it was stronger. 

"H - Hikaru? Is that you?"

"Yeah - yeah, it's me," he answered. "You - you remind me of someone." 

"You do too..." Elizabeth paused, trying to place who Hikaru now reminded her of. Those piercing blue eyes... who? He looked like George Wickham, that charming boy at TAGCon, and his manner matched it, but George didn't have a sister. Maybe he was lying? -She gave it up. "I can't place you. Let's just give it up." 

He shrugged and smiled, and Elizabeth discovered that she found him just as charming as ever. "Are you still twenty-six?" 

"Yeah - yeah, I am. You're still eighteen, right?" 

"Uh-huh." Elizabeth turned to the rest of her sisters, who were now recognizable thanks to the mirror. "I think I should go."

Hikaru smiled. "All right. Off you go. I think I should find my other friend, Akihiro." Seeing another young man with blond hair and green eyes - perhaps the real Charlie Bingley - he walked off. "Goodbye!"


End file.
